UAE deal for AW609 tiltrotors looks in doubt

[The Ronin]

The UAE plan to field three AgustaWestland AW609 light tiltrotor aircraft for search-and-rescue (SAR) and VIP duties appears to have stalled, with the manufacturer telling Jane's that it has "no additional details" to provide on the expected procurement.

An MOU for the procurement of three AgustaWestland AW609 light tiltrotors for the UAE was signed at the Dubai Airshow in November 2015. However, with no contract announced and no deliveries made the status of the deal is unclear. (AgustaWestland)

The UAE and Finmeccanica signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for three tiltrotors (with options for three more) at the Dubai Airshow in November 2015, saying at the time that a contract would follow shortly after and deliveries would begin in 2019. However, no announcements pertaining to a contract were made, and when asked about the status of the deal Leonardo said on 31 May that "No additional details on the programme can be provided as of today".

As reported at the time of the MOU, the aircraft were to be delivered to the UAE's Joint Aviation Command (JAC) for SAR duties by the National Search and Rescue Centre (NSRC) in Abu Dhabi, as well as for VIP duties. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Major General Abdullah Al Sayed Al Hashemi of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence (AF & AD) said that the AW609s would enable SAR operations over a greater distance and speed than it could with conventional helicopters, while still enabling for casualties to be picked up from areas where fixed-wing aircraft would not be able to land or take off.

Powered by two 1,445-kW (1,938-hp) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67A turboshaft engines, one mounted on each wingtip to drive the 7.92-m-long rotor blades, the AW609 has a flight crew of two and can carry a maximum of nine passengers in the standard aircraft configuration. The aircraft has a 275 kt top speed, a range of 750 n miles (1,389 km), a service ceiling of 25,000 ft (with a pressurised cabin), and an estimated endurance of three hours.

https://www.janes.com/article/88970...Rd6VX_vaIAwEAuFZ69fJJYHGmGpSTnJvrc_aTTNCWyDro

 

[Bilal9]

The UAE plan to field three AgustaWestland AW609 light tiltrotor aircraft for search-and-rescue (SAR) and VIP duties appears to have stalled, with the manufacturer telling Jane's that it has "no additional details" to provide on the expected procurement.

An MOU for the procurement of three AgustaWestland AW609 light tiltrotors for the UAE was signed at the Dubai Airshow in November 2015. However, with no contract announced and no deliveries made the status of the deal is unclear. (AgustaWestland)

The UAE and Finmeccanica signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for three tiltrotors (with options for three more) at the Dubai Airshow in November 2015, saying at the time that a contract would follow shortly after and deliveries would begin in 2019. However, no announcements pertaining to a contract were made, and when asked about the status of the deal Leonardo said on 31 May that "No additional details on the programme can be provided as of today".

As reported at the time of the MOU, the aircraft were to be delivered to the UAE's Joint Aviation Command (JAC) for SAR duties by the National Search and Rescue Centre (NSRC) in Abu Dhabi, as well as for VIP duties. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Major General Abdullah Al Sayed Al Hashemi of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence (AF & AD) said that the AW609s would enable SAR operations over a greater distance and speed than it could with conventional helicopters, while still enabling for casualties to be picked up from areas where fixed-wing aircraft would not be able to land or take off.

Powered by two 1,445-kW (1,938-hp) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67A turboshaft engines, one mounted on each wingtip to drive the 7.92-m-long rotor blades, the AW609 has a flight crew of two and can carry a maximum of nine passengers in the standard aircraft configuration. The aircraft has a 275 kt top speed, a range of 750 n miles (1,389 km), a service ceiling of 25,000 ft (with a pressurised cabin), and an estimated endurance of three hours.

https://www.janes.com/article/88970...Rd6VX_vaIAwEAuFZ69fJJYHGmGpSTnJvrc_aTTNCWyDro

These tiltrotor designs (although computer stabilized) are notoriously unstable beasts. In the US the Marines have inducted the V-22 Osprey and I don't know whether they have been deployed to Afghanistan yet, but stateside in LA they conduct anti-terrorist drills all the time using the darned things. Noisy li'l suckers, especially when they are flying at 5000 feet over your house and shaking the windows, at 3 AM!

The concept was developed by the US Army Aviation command (Bell Helicopters XV-3) in the 1960's and has taken six decades to be workable.